Just wanted to get an early warning out that we’ll be back at The Gallery at LPR (Le Poisson Rouge) Friday, February 3rd from 7-10 for wonderful drinks (happy hour til 9), company (other Minnesotans!), food (they sell tater tots), and music!

Specifically, we’ve brought a special guest host to the Minneapple Happy Hour this month in the form of Mr. Chaz Kangas. A Minnesotan rapper who’s been doing great in NYC, you can check out his bandcamp page, or a couple videos that demonstrate some hometown pride. But I think the best advertisement is the wonderful (and featured here before) song entitled simply, ‘Minneapolis’:

There will be trivia to test your Minnesotan-noggins, and the ever-wonderful DJ Cherry Spoon will be spinning the 1s and 2s all evening to spread some MN-vibes.

And just as a side note – I don’t think anyone would complain if folks brought chex-mix:)

with love,

Minneapple in the Big Apple!

Not much time for details but here is the important link!

My favorite part of the night was the impromptu Haiku competition led by our wonderful hosts Tara and Mishka – the prompt was “Write a Haiku about the winter Holidays in Minnesota”.

Although some folks aren’t too good at counting syllables (or writing their names on their submissions!!), I think the results are truly heartwarming, and I’m happy to be able to share them here:

Firewood burning, snow falling,

Vikings on the tube,

Lutefisk on the table.

~Nick and Nikolai

 

You betcha Lefse,

Hot buttered lutefisk,

Uff da yum yum yum

~ Mary and Maria from Augsburg!

 

Minneapolis

Covered in snow, so damned cold,

warms my frosted heart

~Jay & David

 

Josh Hartnett and Prince spooning,

Jesse the Body,

Hanging with Goldy, sexy

~Nick & Nikolai

 

Blinking floats go by

Look out, look out, look out, crash!

Holidazzle fail

 

Holidazzle strut

Cold snot freezing to your face

Stop bitching and wave

~Alicia and Whitnae

 

Caribou coffee

Hot dish with cousins gathered

Matt’s juicy lucy!

 

Red green tattoo tot hot dish

Grand old creamery ice cream

Spam bites for night cap

 

M O A mad dash

I bought too many beanies

Now the log shoot ride

 

Snow sweaters no more

Because new yorkers are weak

Minnesotans rock

~Gemma and Dawn

 

Minnesota is

Ice fishin’ on frozen lake

Cold balls don’t ya know

 

Warm in the fire’s glow

We approach the midnight hour

Northstar lights the way

~B-town Represents

 

Snow falls softly down

Christmas delights now await

Granny’s bars warm us

 

Going to florida

Presents no longer matter

NYC, I’m out!

 

Oyster stew simmers

On the stove my ma yells ‘hey!’

I go to the bar

 

Batteries are dead

Tires frozen to the ground

Lutefisk saved me

 

Thanks again to all participants and attendees! I always have such a great time meeting all of you. Also, it looks like we’re going to be changing things up around here a bit come 2012, and if you’d like to get involved in keeping Minneapple in the Big Apple alive and well, shoot us an e-mail! MinneappleNYC@Gmail.com

Much Love,

Admiral NorthStar

To most Americans, Minneapolis is a stranger. There are exceptions, moments when the city percolates up—the first time a kid somewhere hears the Replacements, say, or when a bridge falls into the Mississippi. But to most people most of the time, Minneapolis is a place with no real shape or texture.

Perhaps the city is to blame for its anonymity. Maybe the people hard at work in this laboratory for progressive culture should worry more about outsiders taking notice. The attention, when it comes, is certainly appreciated.

Minneapolitans relish the steady drumbeat of “best city” rankings: No. 1 Bike City (Bicycling magazine, 2011), Gayest City in America (The Advocate, 2011), Most Literate City (America’s Most Literate Cities study, 2007-08). In 2008, Minneapolis was one of only two American cities to make the British Monocle magazine’s list of the most livable cities in the world.

Sure, these are sometimes frivolous and arbitrary contests. But for a city that lives in the imaginations of Americans as a culturally isolated outpost of extreme and permanent cold, they are small but significant triumphs—and evidence that something is going right in Minneapolis.

Civic achievement, banal as it sounds, can be found without following a flow chart during a public meeting at City Hall. It is a buzzing park, a painter turning a street corner utility box into art, block after block of thriving independent businesses, a festival for every obsession and persuasion—it’s growing, engaged immigrant communities. Minneapolis is all of these things. It is not a utopia, not by any stretch. It’s just a city that works.

Full article here.

Also… did you guys know there’s such a thing as MNopedia?! It’s not a wiki – which is diappointing – but I’m sure it’s chock full of interesting tid-bits like...

The new design of the bicycle made it increasingly popular. So did a drop in price. In the 1880s, the selling price of ordinary bicycles averaged $100 to $150, about six months’ pay at the time. Safety bicycles started at a similar price, but their price dropped through the 1890s, until bicycle sellers in Minneapolis in 1898 could advertise basic models for sale at thirty dollars.

Enjoy!

Just wanted to pass on an awesome event in NYC that’s happening TOMORROW!

This Wednesday, November 9th at 6PM
at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10003

NO TIME FOR COLD FEET
A documentary by Trent Tooley & Jackie Garry
2008, 110 minutes, video.

NO TIME FOR COLD FEET is a documentary on the annual St. Paul Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt. For four years filmmakers Trent Tooley and Jackie Garry followed fanatic medallion hunters in their quest to find the “Holy Grail of Saint Paul” – the King Boreas Treasure Medallion. For twelve grueling days and aided only by a cryptic daily clue, hunters brave the harsh winter, digging through ice and snow, skipping school or work to dig all day and foregoing sleep to dig all night in search of the elusive medallion’s $10,000 reward. The film was shot during the 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 treasure hunts, and also contains an epilogue to give a post-2004 hunt update. Two-time medallion winner Jake Ingebrigtson will be present for the screening!

Here is the link

I just want to make sure everyone knows about the wonderful events on Thursday and Friday,

Thursday night (more details in post below) at 622 DeGraw in Gowanus, Brooklyn – come see Lake Clothes-Be-Gone, the MidWestern themed Burlesque show featuring the wonderful Minnie Tonka, and you get a discount just because you visit this blog! Use promotional code DESMOINES at this link to get an $8 ticket and I’ll see you there! Doors at 9pm.

And on Friday we’ve got the monthly happy hour at Le Poisson Rouge in the West Village. As per usual we’re going 6pm to 10pm with cheapish drinks til 8! Seriously guys, I have so much fun every freaking month and I really hope to see you there. I’m sure we’ll figure out some sort of ridiculous competition to justify giving you beers!

It’s a busy Minnesota-pride week, but try and keep up!

So much love, and see you there!

The wonderful Minnie Tonka, on frozen Lake Waconia, MN!

Boy have we got a treat for you! On Thursday November 3rd (one day before the next Happy Hour at Le Poisson Rouge), Minneapple in the Big Apple is extremely excited to be able to offer discounted tickets to a Midwestern Burlesque show in Gowanus, Brooklyn. In addition to the wonderfully named Minnie Tonka (seen here on the left), we’ll be treated to a wonderful medley of entertainment, dancing, and something called ‘nerd-core’. Here’s the press release, along with a link to buy tickets and the discount code at the bottom for true fans of the Upper Midwest. Can’t wait to see you all there!

Clams Casino is pleased to present a burlesque celebration of NYC’s favorite transplanted midwesterners: LAKE CLOTHES-BE-GONE! On Thursday, November 3, Lake Clothes-Be-Gone takes the stage at Littlefield, 622 DeGraw Street in beautiful Gowanus, Brooklyn. Doors open at 9pm for a 10pm show; admission is just $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

Lake Clothes-Be-Gone! is a heart-warming bump ‘n’ grind tribute to flyover country from a cast of transplanted Midwesterners. A place where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking and all the clothing is on the floor! From the Great Lakes to the Amber Waves of Grain, they’ll be heating it up like Cincinnati chili. Hosted by Iowa native and superstar nerdcore rapper, SCHAFFER THE DARKLORD, the show will feature performances by cornfed stars of the burlesque stage who can never forget their roots in America’s Heartland! Including Ohio native CLAMS CASINO, naughty North Dakotan GO-GO HARDER, Iowa’s own JEZEBEL EXPRESS, straight from Missouri LADY SCOUTINGTON, Minnesota hot dish MINNIE TONKA, Indianan stage kitten DOTTIE DYNAMO and midwestern tunes all night from DJ FRESH PRINCE OF DARKNESS… and all the way from Cleveland accordian/ukelele/comedy superstar team PINCH & SQUEAL! Lake Clothes-Be-Gone will be a trip throughout Middle America for a night that’s hotter than fried cheese curds, sparklier than Lake Superior on a sunny day and more delicious than a Powdermilk Biscuit! It’s bound to be a memorable night, bless their hearts…

Click here for tickets!
Friends of Minneapple can get advanced tickets for just $8! Use promo code DESMOINES

Details and RSVP here!

(just cuz my posts are short doesn’t mean I don’t love you all)

Minnesota high school students scored nearly two points above the national average in the ACT college entrance exam.

Minnesota’s class of 2011 had an average composite score of 22.9, the eighth highest in the nation, according to ACT, which released the results Wednesday. The national average was 21.1, out of possible score of 36.

The state’s composite score was unchanged from 2010.

Students were tested in subjects including English, reading, math and science.

The states that scored higher than Minnesota were Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.

However, none of those states came close to Minnesota in the percentage of graduating students who were tested. While 72 percent of Minnesota graduates took the ACT, the other states ranged from 28 percent (New York) to 9 percent (Maine) of their grads. Students in northeast states are more likely to take the SAT as their college entrance exam.